Next Time You Bleed
by Kamikazee
Summary: BtVS/X-Men Evolution Suppose Dawn's powers as the key could be considered a mutant power? Dawn runs away during the aftermath of the Season 5 finale.
1. Prologue

Next Time You Bleed Prologue  
  
By: Kamikazee E-Mail: neo_kamikazee@hotmail.com Disclaimer: Dawn Summers and all things related to Buffy the Vampire Slayer is the mastermind of Joss Whedon. X-Men Evolution is also (surprise, surprise) not mine. Fandom: BtVS/X-Men Evolution Summary: Could the keys powers be a genetic mutation? Dawn runs away after the events of the season 5 finale and finds herself in Bayville. Spoilers: Up to the season 5 finale for BtVS. For X-Men Evolution: Day of Reckoning 2 (the season 2 finale) Pairing: Dawn/? Distribution: Fanfiction.net, Twisting the Hellmouth. Anyone else just please e-mail me a link. Author's Notes: Okay, I have no real idea where I'm going to go with this, but I'm stuck with my other fics, so here it comes. Notes 2: Title comes from the song 'Hangnail' by Nickelback. Rating: PG  
  
~  
  
I'm not normal.  
  
I don't see how I ever could perceive myself as normal. What I am is not what most people are. Of course, that's not a hard thing to achieve. How many people do you know whose blood opens portals?  
  
That's right. The key is not just a one-time thing. Whenever I bleed, I can open a portal to a different place. It doesn't necessary have to be a different dimension. You see, the more distance between the locations, the more blood needed.  
  
I feel empty here. Like I'm not connected to anything, or anyone, else. Just me, alone with my grief. Now that Buffy's not here, there's really nothing for me to hold on to, nothing to keep me here.  
  
Sure, the others try. Willow, Xander, Giles, Tara and even Spike are trying to help me. But it's hard for them to assist me when they're working through their own grief anyway. I'm really just a hindrance to them, something extra that they have to take care of.  
  
I guess that helped me to finally decide on a course of action. They don't need me here; in fact, things would be much easier for them if I had never come along. So, I figure, that I'll solve at least some of their problems by disappearing.  
  
No, I am not going to kill myself. I made a promise to Buffy and myself that night that I would live. Besides, that would probably cause more problems that it would solve. Bleeding is not a good thing where I'm concerned.  
  
So, I'll get myself out of the hair of the people who are left here in Sunnydale. Let them worry about the Hellmouth and their grief, they won't have to worry about me anymore.  
  
I don't know where I'll go. At this point I don't really care. I've got enough money in my wallet to last me a couple of weeks and a bus ticket out of hell. What more could a girl ask for? Maybe her sister and mother to be alive. But, that's not going to happen anytime soon, so I might as well settle for this.  
  
As I get on the run down bus, the sun is just rising over the horizon. Dawn. I suppose that's ironic but I just don't care enough to find it amusing. Lots of things in my life seem to be ironic right now. Like, how three years ago, Buffy was doing the same thing I'm doing now. Running away after being responsible for sending someone you love to hell.  
  
There's one big difference, though, I realize as we pass the leaving sign. 'You are now leaving Sunnydale. Come back soon!' I don't plan on coming back. If you can get out of here alive, you don't come back. Or, at least, I won't.  
  
All I have to say is, I'm sorry Buffy. I can't take care of them; I'm not strong enough. It's better this way. But, I'm going to live, if nothing else than to make you proud. I'll try to be brave, and maybe one day, I'll be strong enough to accept what you did for me.  
  
'Dawn listen to me. Listen. I love you. I'll always love you. But this is the work I have to do. Tell Giles I... I figured it out. And I'm okay. Give my love to my friends. You have to take care of them now -- you have to take care of each other. You have to be strong. Dawn. The hardest thing in this world is to live in it. Be brave. Live. For me.'  
  
~  
  
Okay, well, it's kind of short. But it is just a prologue. Should I continue?  
  
Kamikazee 


	2. Chapter 1

Next Time You Bleed Chapter 1  
  
By: Kamikazee E-Mail: neo_kamikazee@hotmail.com Disclaimer: Dawn Summers and all things related to Buffy the Vampire Slayer is the mastermind of Joss Whedon. X-Men Evolution is also (surprise, surprise) not mine. Fandom: BtVS/X-Men Evolution Summary: Could the keys powers be a genetic mutation? Dawn runs away after the events of the season 5 finale and finds herself in Bayville. Spoilers: Up to the season 5 finale for BtVS. For X-Men Evolution: Day of Reckoning 2 (the season 2 finale) Pairing: Dawn/? Distribution: Fanfiction.net, Twisting the Hellmouth. Anyone else just please e-mail me a link. Author's Notes: Okay, I have no real idea where I'm going to go with this, but I'm stuck with my other fics, so here it comes. Notes 2: Title comes from the song 'Hangnail' by Nickelback. Notes 3: I'd like to thank everyone who reviewed. You guys really encourage a girl to write. Rating: PG  
  
~  
  
You can't run for ever.  
  
Dawn Summers was just beginning to figure that out. Here she was, across the country from the only people who cared about her. The fifteen year old was stranded in New York. No, not New York City. Some small suburb called Bayville.  
  
Of course, that wasn't her only problem. No, her biggest problems did not centre on the fact that she was stranded in Bayville. They centred around the fact that she was stranded in Bayville with no money and that it was beginning to get cold.  
  
It was hard to believe that it had been two months since she ran away. September was just around the corner. The air was beginning to get chill, especially in upstate New York, and most teenagers were getting ready for the new school year.  
  
I never said that Dawn was most teenagers. She wasn't thinking about a back to school outfit, or worrying about what teachers she was going to get. No, she was trying to figure out how to get her next meal, and where she was going to spend the night.  
  
"Wow," the brunette muttered to herself, aimlessly wandering around town, "Running away is a lot harder than television makes it seem."  
  
~ Charles Xavier was trapped. Mystique had gotten the best of him. He now found himself in a psychically secure room, all but a prisoner. Mystique had him, and his X-Men had no idea.  
  
For all he knew, Mystique could be using his team to cause havoc among the world all in his name. He could only hope that his students would figure out that something had gone terribly wrong.  
  
There, were of course, other things for the Professor to think over in his long repetitive hours of captivity. One of these being the mutant signature he had detected shortly before being captured. A fifteen year old from southern California had developed powers. He had meant to contact her, but had been unable to considering the circumstances.  
  
He could only hope that his enemies did not reach this Dawn Summers before his X-Men could.  
  
~  
  
Mystique looked over the rag tag collection of mutants before her. The Brotherhood and the X-Men stood as far away from each other as possible, feet crunching over the remain of what had once been a safe house.  
  
Things were tense, especially with Quicksilver's betrayal to be with his father. She could only hope that she could reach a truce with the remaining X-Men. If need be, she could threaten the health of their darling professor.  
  
Despite her confidence in being able to sway the X-Men to help her, Mystique was anxious. Magneto was much stronger than she expected, even managing to last through an attack by the Scarlet Witch.  
  
She needed something else, something that would turn the tables in her favour. But what could she do, the mutants had already chosen sides. The only thing that could possibly help would be a new player, a recently developed mutant.  
  
The corners of Mystiques lips raised in a smirk. She knew just the girl. Word was her 'coming out' had been quite a show. Yes, she could see it now. The newest member of her team, Dawn Summers.  
  
~  
  
The master of magnetism, Erik Lensherr, sat quietly, pondering recent developments. It was true; he had one the first fight. But, still, he wasn't sure if his team was strong enough to keep winning.  
  
Wanda had been something he had been prepared for, with the help of Pietro. But, she was still powerful, and not to be underestimated. Not to say his team wasn't powerful. Colossus, Gambit, Sabretooth, Pyro and his son Quicksilver, he had quite the arsenal. But would it be enough?  
  
He needed someone new, someone they wouldn't expect. The question was, who? His spy's had kept him up to date on the newly raised mutants around the world, but he could not think of one that could assist his cause. He needed someone special, someone who would be they key to his plan.  
  
Someone like Dawn Summers.  
  
~  
  
Okay, this chapter just sort of set the stage for future chapters.  
  
I've got a question for you guys though. What team would you like to see Dawn apart of: The X-Men The Acolytes (Magneto's Crew) The Brotherhood  
  
I have ideas for all three, including pairings, but I want to see what you guys would be interested in.  
  
Kamikazee 


	3. Chapter 2

Next Time You Bleed Chapter 2  
  
By: Kamikazee E-Mail: neo_kamikazee@hotmail.com Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters or ideas to do with Buffy the Vampire Slayer or X-Men Evolution. No copyright infringement is intended. Fandom: BtVS/X-Men Evolution Summary: Could the keys powers be a genetic mutation? Dawn runs away after the events of the season 5 finale and finds herself in Bayville. Spoilers: BtVS - Season 5 finale, X-Men Evolution - Day of Reckoning 2 (season 2 finale) Pairing: Dawn/? (I know what it's going to be, but I'll keep it a surprise a little while longer.) Distribution: Fanfiction.net, Twisting the Hellmouth, anyone else, please just e-mail me a link. Author's Note: Yay! I finally have an idea where this fic is going! Thanks to everyone for the wonderful feedback you've been giving me, I hope you enjoy the way I'm going to go with it. Notes 2: For the purposes of this fic, Dawn is 16 years old.  
  
~  
  
"Once again, we have been bested," the blue skinned woman paced in front of the small group of teenagers, "Bested even with the X-Men on our side, and betrayed by one of our own."  
  
"Ruddy, little." Fred Dukes, know to his many as the Blob, "Come on, Mystique, let us at him."  
  
"Yeah," the Toad leaped over the couch to stare at the woman in front of him, "Let us show him what it means to betray the Brotherhood. Yeah. Yeah."  
  
"No, you idiots," Mystique shot back at the teenagers, voice filled with venom, "Quicksilver doesn't matter anymore, he's worthless. Let Magneto have him. With the X-Men refusing to work with us we have to be stronger than before. What's important now is getting the next player before the others."  
  
"Next player?" Wanda decided to put in, lounging casually across a chair, "What player is this exactly?" The others around her grumbled their agreement. Mystique let a small smile curve across her lips.  
  
"Lance, I have something for you to do," she began, her voice gaining an ominous good cheer, "I need you to go find someone for me."  
  
The gang of mutants known as the Brotherhood looked at each other with similar expressions.  
  
'Great. What's she going on about now.."  
  
~  
  
"Stop pushing"  
  
"But you're hogging all the room."  
  
"I am not, I'm just trying to see what they're doing."  
  
"That doesn't mean you get to take up all the space."  
  
Kitty Pryde and Evan Daniels followed that with a short but furious elbow fight for the best position spying through the window at the Brotherhood of mutants.  
  
Kitty reached out and shoved Evan onto the ground and smugly took up a position in front of the window. She peered carefully inside, frowning at what she could make out.  
  
"They're up to something, Evan," she whispered to her fellow X-Man, who sat grumbling on the ground, glaring up at his partner, "I just know it!"  
  
"What's new about that?" Evan shot back at her, somewhat cross with the teenage girl, "Those guys are always up to something. They're the bad guys it's what they do."  
  
"Yeah, I know, but this time it seems." Kitty shot back at him, exasperation showing in her voice, "Get down! They're coming out h ere!"  
  
The two teens threw themselves into the surrounding bushes. Their cover was good, completely hiding them from view. But the noise they made as they attempted to straighten themselves out was horrendous.  
  
The door to the Brotherhood house opened. Toad's head was stuck out, giving a nervous glance to the bush that held their enemies. "But guys," he whined to his fellow housemates, I was sure their was something out there."  
  
"You're just hearing things, man," came the voice of Lance Alvers as he stepped into view. "Nobody's there, Todd. Stop freaking out." The senior walked down the porch and towards his parked car.  
  
"Remember, Lance," came the stern voice of Mystique from the house, "Failure is not on option. Bring her back."  
  
"Yea, yea, Mystique. I'll bring her back, don't worry." Lance's voice was casual and laid back; "You said she's be at the school, right?"  
  
"Yes," was the blue skinned mutants response, "Registering for school. Don't fail me this time. I want Dawn Summers as part of our team."  
  
"Sure, boss lady!" was the confident answer she received, "Piece of cake! I mean, she's just a sixteen-year-old girl. How hard is this going to be?" Of course, Lance was only a year older, at seventeen. But, he didn't seem to take this into consideration as he hopped into his jeep and took off towards Bayville High.  
  
The Brotherhood took this as their cue to go on with their regular lives. The teenagers and Mystique re-entered the house and went about whatever they cared to. Outside, however, things were a little more hectic.  
  
"Jeez!" came the cry from the mutant know as Shadowcat, "we've got to go after him. Stop him from convincing that mutant to join the Brotherhood!" She was all riled up and ready for a confrontation.  
  
"Yea, and we'll do that, Kitty," responded Spyke, "As soon as we go report to Scott what's going on. You know he told us to tell him when something happens. If we head back to the mansion now."  
  
"Head back to the mansion!" Kitty's cry was horrified, "But we don't have the time! We need to go after Lance now!"  
  
"We'll have better luck if we go get the others! Hurry, we're wasting time!" Evan reached out to grab Kitty's arm so that they could start off towards home and backup.  
  
"You're right, we are wasting time," Kitty conceded, but as his hand reached to grab her, it passed right through her. " I'm not going to let him win again. I'll show him that the X-Men are twice as good as the Brotherhood!"  
  
With that, Kitty Pryde took off sprinting towards the school, leaving Evan Daniels behind torn in indecision. His eyes nervously went back and forth. Kitty or Scott? Kitty or Scott?  
  
Suddenly, Spyke began running towards what was left of the X-Mansion. He better get some backup.  
  
~  
  
Okay, I'm very sorry about the long update time, but I was kind of stuck for a couple days. Plus, the life of a high schooler . 


	4. Chapter 3

Next Time You Bleed  
Chapter 3  
  
Author: Kamikazee E-Mail: neo_kamikazee@hotmail.com Disclaimer: I do not own anything pertaining to the television show Buffy the Vampire Slayer or the cartoon X-Men Evolution. Fandom: BtVS/X-Men Evolution Summary: Could the keys power be a genetic mutation? Dawn runs away after the events of the season 5 finale and finds herself in Bayville. Spoilers: BtVS - Season 5 finale, X-Men Evolution - Day of Reckoning 2 (Season 2 finale) Pairing: Dawn/? (I'll tell you soon, I promise.) Distribution: Fanfiction.net, Twisting the Hellmouth. Anyone else, I'd be glad to let you use it, please just e-mail me the URL. Author's Note: Sorry it took so long to get this out. Writer's block and exams. I hope to work on this more often now that it's summer, but I do have a lot of works in progress. Notes 2: I'd like to thank one site in particular, for all the useful X- Men: Evolution information it's given me. http://x- men.animationinsider.net/  
  
~  
  
"Why."  
  
Kick.  
  
"Does."  
  
Kick.  
  
"Everything."  
  
Kick.  
  
"Always."  
  
Kick.  
  
"Screw."  
  
Kick.  
  
"Up?"  
  
Dawn Summers was not in a good mood. The young mutant had thought to register for school. Of course, thought is probably not the best word to use. You see, if she thought, she would have realized that the school was very unlikely to accept a girl with no papers, no parents and no address.  
  
She was lucky enough that she got out of there before the principal called the police on her run away ass. Now, she was left wondering where everything went wrong, and, incidentally, kicking a trash can, in the Bayville High school yard.  
  
"I'm so stupid!" came her frustrated cry, finally collapsing on the nearby steps. Her eyes stung and she could feel the tears that threatened to fall. "No!" came the frustrated growl. "I will not cry! I can do this. Buffy did this, I can do this."  
  
But, Dawn was quickly losing hope with herself. The same part of her that told her that it was her fault that her sister died was now content to inform her that Buffy had always been stronger than her. Dawn was the sister that always needed to be protected, that could never do anything on her own.  
  
For a fleeting second, all Dawn wanted to do was to call Willow. She wanted to hear the red heads voice and to ask her to go home. Then, the memory of why she had left in the first place came back. She was going to do this. She wasn't going to bother Willow with her problems; she had enough on her plate already.  
  
"I'll just have to find a job," was her admittance. "Find a job, make  
some money, and maybe get an apartment. I can do this." The teenager's eyes hardened and she prepared to throw herself whole-heartedly into her new plan.  
  
A screeching of tires and a jeep careening into the parking lot distracted her from her task at hand. The car skidded to a halt not five feet in front of her, the skid marks its tires had caused forming a circle around the asphalt.  
  
A teenage boy, probably a little older than her, stepped out of the drivers seat. He was tall, with dark brown hair, and a mischievous smirk. If Dawn had seen him six months ago, she would have blushed and giggled about him with her friends. As it was, she was suspicious.  
  
He looked over at her, smile not fading at bit. The new boy walked, no scratch that, swaggered over to the sceptical girl. "Dawn Summers, right?"  
  
If possible, her suspicion rose even more with that statement. Years of living on the Hellmouth made her subconsciously slip into a position that would make it easier to defend herself. "Who are you and how do you know my name?" I phrase it as a question, but if you had heard Dawn's tone of voice, it was much more similar to an order.  
  
"I'm Lance Alvers, pleased to meet you," came his easy reply as he stuck his hand out for her to shake. His smile never left his face, even as Dawn blatantly ignored his professed hand in favour of glaring at him. "I'm here to offer you."  
  
"Don't listen to anything he says!" came the voice of a teenage girl. She was around Dawn's age as she came into view, running toward them and panting as if she had just finished a marathon. She came to a stop in front of the two other teens, glaring at the much taller Lance.  
  
"I'm Kitty, come with me," the frail brunette reached out for Dawn's arm, her brown hair swaying in its perky pony tail.  
  
Dawn jerked her arm out of the way before she could grab it. "Wow. Okay, I'm not going anywhere with either of you. So, why don't you two just back off a little bit." It appeared that Dawn had taken her own advice, as she took several steps away from the weird new kids.  
  
"That's right, Kitty, she's not going anywhere with you," came Lance's smug reply at Dawn's refusal, "She's the newest member of the Brotherhood."  
  
Before Dawn could get a word out, Kitty's voice cut back, "Join the Brotherhood? Like, no way! Why would she want to do that? She's coming with me; the X-Men will take care of this. Like, always."  
  
"Maybe..." Dawn was cut off again, as the enemies continued to ignore her presence. The mutant from Sunnydale got the feeling that these two argued just for the sake of arguing, sort of like the way Xander and Cordelia used to.  
  
"The X-Men? Oh, come on, you guys don't even have a leader right now. Mystique made sure of that!" Lance's reply was full of venom as he glared down at the petite Kitty, who met his glare with an icy gaze.  
  
"Well, like, at least we don't have our own team mates abandoning us for another team. How are you guys doing without Quicksilver?" Kitty decided to go for the mocking approach, her goal now to aggravate Lance as much as possible.  
  
"Why, you." Dawn gasped as the ground began to shake, throwing both her and Kitty about as if they were nothing as Lance stood there seething. As she hit the ground, Dawn grunted in pain. The noise coming from the younger Summers girl seemed to shake the two other mutants out of their argument, for now.  
  
"Oh. My. God. Are you okay?" Kitty was gushing, trying to check the girl for injuries as she struggled to get away. "Lance is always doing stuff like that, which is why you should come with me, like, right now."  
  
"It was an accident, okay? Calm down. I am sorry, though. Come on, I can take you back to the house so you can meet the others." Lance took a hold of her right arm, trying to pull Dawn back to his jeep.  
  
"Hey! Let go!" came Dawn's strangled cry as she began struggling in Lance's grip. Kitty took that as a guarantee that Dawn had decided to side with the X-Men and grabbed the girl's other arm and attempted to pull her away from Lance. What resulted was a twisted version of a tug-a-war, with Dawn as the rope.  
  
"She's ours."  
  
"No, she is so, like, an X-Men now."  
  
"No way, I saw her first."  
  
Unbeknownst to the tree teens, a playing card had floated to the ground around ten feet away. A pulsating glow had enveloped it. If they had seen it, maybe Lance and Kitty would have known what was to come. Then again, maybe not. As it was, they did not see it and the explosion that followed took all three by surprise.  
  
As Dawn was unceremoniously thrown into the wall of the school, she felt her hand scrape down the stone. Wetness formed on her hand. "Oh no, please, not now." Her whispered plea obviously went unheard. The red droplets seemed to glow as they hit what seemed like an invisible surface.  
  
The glowing blood expanded, forming a whirling vortex. Dawn considered her options, jump into the portal and risk ending up 15 feet above the ground, or stay for round two of the Dawn Games. The portal it was.  
  
As Dawn disappeared in the swirling light of what used to be her blood, Lance lay sprawled after being thrown from the force of the explosion, on top of Kitty.  
  
"What do you think you're doing?" came the outraged cry of the girl, "Lance Alvers get off me this instant!"  
  
"Whhhhha.?" came the grunted reply.  
  
~  
  
Okay, so this is actually a little longer than my usual chapters. And I still didn't get to the point I wanted to finish at! But, this seemed like a good place to end. It's a kind of cliffhanger, but I'll update soon.  
  
~ Kamikazee 


	5. Chapter 4

Next Time You Bleed  
Chapter 4  
  
Author: Kamikazee E-Mail: neo_kamikazee@hotmail.com Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters or plots affiliated with either Buffy the Vampire Slayer or X-Men: Evolution Fandom: BtVS/X-Men: Evolution Summary: Could the key's powers be a genetic mutation? Dawn runs away after the events of the season 5 finale and finds herself in Bayville. Spoilers: BtVS - Season 5 finale, X-Men: Evolution - Day of Reckoning 2 (Season 2 finale) Pairing: Dawn/Gambit Distribution: Fanfiction.net, Twisting the Hellmouth, Personal Space. Anyone else, just e-mail me an URL and I'd be happy to let you post it. Author's Note: Sorry it's taken so long to get this out. I sort of got pulled in some different direction with my writing and I've stepped away from this fic. I'll try to get parts out more often, but I'm not making any promises.  
  
~  
  
The sparkling portal spread out above the football field of Bayville High School. Its glowing surface seemed to ripple in the midday sunlight that covered everything. A second later a muffled shriek was heard as Dawn was thrown out of the vortex onto the hard ground below.  
  
The teenager hit the grass with an 'oomph', and lay there for several seconds before she worked up the energy to push herself up. Eyeing the scrapes that covered her hands with distaste, she decided she better figure out where she was.  
  
When she saw that she hadn't travelled far, she gave an audible sigh of relief. The girl was glad that she at least knew where she was. It was several seconds later that she finally noticed that someone had been observing her ever since she left the air.  
  
The young man was tall, standing several inches above Dawn, as far as she could tell. He had longish auburn hair, kept out of his eyes by a black headband. Those eyes were covered with dark shades, and Dawn really wanted to know what colour they were.  
  
For a second, she lost herself trying to imagine the exact shade. It took her only a moment to pull herself back into reality and work up a scowl to send towards the unknown man.  
  
"Who are you?" the tone came out distrustful. Dawn may have thought he was handsome, but that didn't change the fact that he was a stranger and starring at her.  
  
A smirk fell on his lips as he walked slowly towards her. He stopped right in front of her, and before she knew what was happening, her hand was in his. "You can call me Gambit, joli," His accent was southern, but that thought fled from Dawn's mind as he brought her hand to his lips and brushed a kiss across her knuckles.  
  
She stared at him blankly for a second, lost in the attention this 'Gambit' was lavishing on her. With a shake of her head, her gaze took on a suspicious glint again.  
  
"That doesn't really tell me much," she told the boy frankly, shifting her wait and looking at him expectantly.  
  
"I work for a man who is interested in your special abilities," he whispered charmingly, trying to dazzle her with another smile. It would have worked, too, if it weren't for the cold clamp of fear that his words opened up in her.  
  
She finally yanked her hand from his and backed up from him, "Stay away from me." The words came out in a hiss, Dawn taking on a defensive stance.  
  
The man's smile changed into a confused look directed towards the girl. "What's wrong, joli?" He stepped towards her, and she stepped back.  
  
"You work for a man who's interested in using me," she spat at him, anger and pain in her eyes as she re-worded what he had told her.  
  
"Non," he held his hands up in innocence, "He wants to help you, cherie," his voice was soothing as he tried to explain, "There are people around here, who don't understand what it's like to be special. We're showing them that we're not going to let them keep us down."  
  
Dawn looked at him, trying to gouge his sincerity. There were two sides to the argument warring inside her head. The cynical side was telling her that he was lying, that she was just going to get hurt again. The optimist side kept reminding her that, hey, it couldn't get any worse, right?  
  
He looked at her and smiled, before saying in his delectable accent, "We're offering you a home, a family."  
  
Dawn's eyes snapped back to him. His last sentence had pierced her deep, reminding her of everything she'd lost. His unspoken promise was that they would need her. He was offering her a place where she could do something, be apart of something. For the first time in a long time, Dawn Summers smiled.  
  
"So, when do we leave?" She walked towards the young man, a stranger to her, but so familiar. Her previous mistrust gone, she was lured in by the promise of belonging again. Dawn thought that finally, maybe, her life might be going up. She looked up at Gambit.  
  
"We leave now, joli," he told her taking her hand and leading her towards where he had parked his bike. Magneto would be quite pleased with him when he returned with Dawn. Plus, she wasn't that bad on the eyes.  
  
As Dawn unknowingly pulled herself into a giant web of lies and deceit, she couldn't be happier. Of course, she couldn't be more clueless, either. You would think living on a Hellmouth would make you more aware, but Dawn was quite willing to believe anything Gambit told her right now.  
  
Not a great thing to do, when dealing with a thief.  
  
Dawn however, was thinking on a completely different plane of thought. "So, what's your special power?" The question came out with a giggle, happiness was quickly returning to the brunette.  
  
Gambit smiled down at her before reaching up and sliding down his shades, revealing the most captivating eyes the young Summers had ever seen, including Spike. Caught in pools of red and black, Dawn had no idea what she had just gotten herself into.  
  
~  
  
Kamikazee 


End file.
